Gas for blowpipe use



Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

JOHN HARRIS, 0F LAKEwoon, OHIo,'AsSIeNoR.:TooARBo-oXY N COMPANY, on

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A 'oonr'onAT IoN 0F DELAWARE.

GAS mm BLOWPIPE USE. V

N0 Drawing.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN Zen of the United States, residing atLakewood, in the county of Cuyahoga .andState of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gases for Blowpipe Use, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to gases adapted ofl'ers certain disadvantages, one of which is its great intensity of combustion which concentrates the flame into a very small space. A further disadvantage is that all parts of the flame are colorless, thus rendering it impossible for any but the most skilled operator to adjust the flame with reference to the air or oxygen admitted, or to apply the same in proper position to the work performed.

It has been proposed to impregnate the hydrogen with certain hydrocarbons which by reason of their slower combustion should spread the flame more widely and which by reason of their visible combustion should define the position of the reducing cone and thus assist both the adjustment of the gas supply and in the application of the flame to the work. However the admixture of hydrocarbon entails two decided disadvantages: first, the Very low flame temperature which most of them produce which impedes the operation of the torch or blow pipe even when used in a mixture with hydrogen; and second, their complicated molecular structure, which necessitates a great preponderance of oxygen in order to consume the same. For example ten cubic feet of hydrogen can be completely consumed by five cubic feet of oxygen at the same pressure; but ten cubic feet of methane (CH at the same pressure will require twenty cubic feet of oxygen for its complete combustion; ten cubic feet of ethane (C 11 will require thirty five cubic feet of oxgyen; and ten cubic feet of benzene (C H .will

HARRIS, a citi- Application filed August 20, 1918. Serial No. 250,637.

requireseventy five cubic feet of oxygen for, 1ts complete combustion. However thesegases can beuse d successfully in admixture wlthhydrogen 1f restricted to a sufliciently small percentage of, the whole as by being= previously mixed with a suitable com: bustible' vehicle of low; molecular com plexity, small oxygen consumption and high flame temperature. 'i

' I have found that a mixtureof hydrogen within from 10% to of ordinary artificial illuminating gas will serve excellently wellas a cutting gas and even to'some extent as a welding gas where the requirements are not too severe. Such illuminating gas may be either thatknown' as coal gas,

or that known as impregnated water gas. The former is made bythe destructive dis tillation of soft coal either in gas retorts or in by-product coke ovens; the latter is made by passing steam through incandescent coke,-forming a mixture of hydrogen. and

carbon monoxide, and then carbureting or impregnating such mixed gases with hydrocarbon oils whereby the same is fitted to burn with a luminous flame. For cutting and welding purposes, the two gases are very similar in their. properties as is Shown by the following comparison:

Water gas. Coal gas.

N2--." Candlepower Oalorific value.

B.t.u. B.t.ui

The main divergence lies in the CO con-' tent, wh1ch,however,- acts much the same.

stored for use, or the same may be admitted] simultaneously into the torch from twoseparate receptacles or supply sources by adjusting the Valves so as to pass the same at substantially the proportions indicated.

By using either of the tWo gases in the proportions specified, I am enabled to ob tain a large flame volume and With the proe duction of a correspondinglylarge number of heat units, the flame volume and heat units being proportional to the percentage of the gas mixed With the hydrogen. If at the low limit of 10%, the mixture of hydrogen With ,eitherof these gases enables me to vout and Weld quickly, to preheat large metal masses, such as castings, in such manner as to compensate for the loss of heat due to conduction by such masses. Furthermore, as

the amount of the gas mixed With the hydrogen is increased, the resultant flame is still better adapted for the purposes specified as Well as for the cutting of deep slots in heavy masses of metal and the'cutting of dirty or corroded metals.

Havlng thus described my invention What- I claim is a 1. A gas for cutting and Welding purposes comprising a mixture of hydrogen With from signature.

more than 10% and not more than 50% of carbureted Water gas of substantially the following composition 2. A gas for cutting and Welding purposes comprising a mixture of hydrogen With from 15% to 50% of carbureted Water gas of substantially the following composition 8 3 '11.85 pa rts volume. ob 5:11:11: 3113 361 u cc CI -L 12.6 (LI-I1 1 2.3 4 u u N; 2 c: :4 cc

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my I JOHN HARRIS. 

